Tuesday, June 24, 2014

2nd Regiment, Chasseurs a Pied of the Imperial Guard

A second regiment of Chasseurs a Pied de la Garde Imperiale was first raised on April 15, 1806. It was reabsorbed into the 1st regiment in 1809, only to be re-created again on May 18, 1811. After Napoleon's escape form Elba, the 2nd regiment was raised yet again (along with the 1st regiment, and the new and decidedly inferior 3rd and 4th Regiments in 1815. It was disbanded for the last time on October 1st, 1815. Its uniforms and organization were identical to that of the first regiment, whose origins dated back to the Consulate.

I decided to add a 2nd Regiment of Chassseurs a Pied to my French Napoleonic army rather late in the process of planning for my two games to be run at Historicon next month. The scenario is based upon the battle of Montmirail, 1814, where virtually all of the Guard, save for some of the newer Young Guard units, saw active combat. My existing 1st Regiment, raised over 15 years ago, used Foundry figures. It turned out that there were still supplies of Essex Chasseurs (and Grenadiers) a Pied available as part of the clearance sale (at 67% off) by Wargames, Inc. I could have used Old Glory, but those extra figures would have then demanded that they become the Neapolitan Guard or some such, and I didn't want to face that prospect just yet! So, Essex it was!

The 2e Regiment, Chasseurs a Pied de la Garde Imperiale. 28mm Essex figures. Note the casualty figure and spare drummer on the right of the picture - There were only 13 of the base pose available, so I had to fill the rest of the regiment out with a few different Chaseur figures (more on that later). Regardless, they give the regiment a little extra character, I think.

The flag will be added later. my reading indicated that the drums for the Old Guard units had medium to light blue rims, instead of the usual dark blue rims commonly used by French units, and that can be seen here. Seen also are the embossed grenades alternating with hunting horns on the brass body of the drum. Neat!

A rather poor quality photo of the rear of the Chasseurs. Eh bien, not a sight the enemy is likely to see anyway, ne c'est pas?

Another view of the 2nd Chasseurs, showing their pointed cuffs, and bearskin without frontal plate or patch on the back, the key features, along with the red and green plumes and epaulets, which distinguished their uniform form that of the Grenadiers a Pied. Partially visible also is a sergeant, with his cords and epaulets of red mixed with green mixed with gold. Guard uniforms were exspensive!

Because I couldn't be sure hoe many of the figures I needed were actually in stock, I got a few extras "just in case". These 2 Chasseurs kneeling may eventually become part of a HQ guard vignette. The center figure is supposed to be a wounded Chasseur. To me, he looks more like he is about to give an impromptu camp rendition of the "Chant du départ", the so called "brother of the Marseillaise", written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul (music), which remained popular during the Empire.

The "singer" might go well with my (still to be painted) Eureka late 18th century string Quartet, or...

this Connosieur cantinière! It seems that she will have plenty of spirits on hand to keep his whistle wet!

Thanks, Jon. Montmirail will empty your shelves of French Guards and shake the lead in their legs, that's for sure! My Guards have seen good use since 2009 with Aspern-Essling, Wagram, Borodino and Dresden all brought to the tabletop.